“My caregivers are like loving daughters who help with shopping, housework and fixing my meals.”

Softly, tenderly, Betty sang her favorite song – IF I HAD THE WINGS OF AN ANGEL! At 94 years young, she declared with her fetching smile, “I’ve been singing all my life!”

Abandoned and adopted at seven months from a Rescue Mission, Betty has spent her life not just singing but as a nurse and caregiver helping “rescue” others in desperate need and with limited resources. For Betty, there is a strange irony that she herself is now on a fixed, low income, physically challenged and in need of in-home help.

“It’s a turnaround for me. How lucky I am to have Catholic Community Services here to help. My strength, especially in my hands, is almost nil so I know what I can and can’t do. My caregivers are like loving daughters who help with shopping, housework and fixing my meals.”

The CCS Long Term Care program gives Betty, and thousands of others, the ability to remain in the home they love and to age with dignity and security. Thanks to generous people like you, CCS was able to provide over two million hours of in-home care this past year. Beyond home-based services, CCS offers Meals-on-Wheels and senior transportation programs, as well as elder outreach partnerships with Senior Centers and Meal Sites throughout Western Washington.

Betty’s unexpected “turnaround” from care-giver to care-receiver leaves no doubt she well deserves her songs yearning for “the wings of an angel!” Your support is vital to continue serving the rising number of low and no-income elders like Betty with home care, nutritional meals, transportation, personal care, and the needed warmth of human connection.

A gift, no matter the amount, will have real and positive impact for those we serve who face the challenges of aging on limited means, oftentimes in isolation and loneliness. Please consider making a donation today! Thank you!